Tolman improves to 9-0, spikes North Smithfield, 3-1

April 30, 2014

Tolman senior Keanu Perry (right) takes to the air to belt a spike past North Smithfield defenders Adam Carey (27) and Brian Rowe during the first game of Wednesday nightâs crossover match at the Northmenâs gym. The Tigers remained unbeaten at 9-0 by posting a 3-1 victory. PHOTO BY ERNEST A. BROWN

NORTH SMITHFIELD â For someone who had just watched his team improve to a perfect 9-0 in league play on the season, Tolman High head coach Neil Nachbar sure didnât seem very pleased.
His Tigers had just manufactured not only a 3-1 victory over gritty North Smithfield in a Division II crossover clash at the Lovett Memorial Gym on Wednesday night, but also a minimum of four individual season-best performances.
Among them were senior captainâs Eric Silveiraâs 20 kills and nine aces; fellow senior setter Kelvin Reyesâ 50 assists; and classmate Denzel DePinaâs 15 kills (with two blocks).
Another senior, Keanu Perry, chipped in 11 kills and 10 digs to record his first âdouble-doubleâ of the campaign.
With all of those impressive stats, however, the Tigers had to work for the 25-17, 25-17, 25-27, 25-22 decision. And, much to Nachbarâs chagrin, his kids failed to manufacture a 3-0 sweep for only the third time this season â the other two came against city rivals Shea and St. Raphael (also 3-1 wins).
âOne of the reasons some guys had season-high outings was this was the longest match weâve had all year,â he stated. âIt was longer in terms of points played and minutes.
âThis has been happening to us all season; that is, weâd have a big lead in a game, or weâd be up one or two games and then let up for some reason,â he added. âWe didnât keep the pedal to the metal.
âItâs something Iâve talked about with the players â continuing to play well with a lead, but weâre not showing that killer instinct when we should âŠ Our serve has a long way to go. In previous years, that would be our No. 1 strength, but not with this team. Weâre not showing any consistency.â
On the positive side, junior Kenny Vieira â with his initial shot at serving this spring â mustered four aces, while senior Tyler Harry contributed four kills.
For the Northmen, who fell to 4-5 in II-North, junior Zack Mowry closed with six kills and two blocks, while sophomore Adam Carey mustered six kills and four blocks; junior Anders Viera Dones four kills and four caroms; and classmate Mark Keenan two spikes and a team-leading five blocks.
It was Vieiraâs service who helped Tolman jump out to an immediate 6-0 cushion in the opening game, but North Smithfield cut the gap to 8-6 after Austin Leâs serve hit the net. The Northmen later knifed the deficit to 13-9 on a combination block by Keenan and Carey, then 20-17 on junior Brian Lamoureuxâs service.
Still, Perry managed four points on his serve, using an ace and Mowryâs out-of-bounds set on the final point to secure the 25-17 victory.
Head coach Jeff Crinsâ crew fell behind in the second game, 4-1, before rallying to knot it for the first time at 6-6. The Tigers, however, took control when Silveira served four straight points (with three aces) to make it 15-8. Thanks to another ace, the visitors snared that set by the identical score of 25-17.
During the third, Tolman pounced to a 4-1 advantage again, but â this time â North Smithfield was ready. It earned its first lead of the entire match, 7-6, when a Tolman spike flew wide, but the Tigers rebounded on senior Jason Aguileraâs service.
With it, they mustered an 11-7 cushion; the Northmen didnât wilt, though.
They battled back to tie it eight times in all, the last at 25-25, before Viera Dones slammed down a kill and Silveiraâs kill sailed inches outside the left sideline to clinch for the hosts the 27-25 triumph.
In the final game, North Smithfield led twice, the last time at 8-7, before Vieira strolled to the service stripe. With the tally tied for the third time at 8-8, Vieira took advantage of seven straight points to make it 14-9.
Lamoureuxâs ace cut it to 22-18, but Tolman sealed the match when Viera Donesâ soft set sailed into the netting. That gave Nachbar and Co. the 25-22 win.
âIn the first two games, we were just too timid; they were going with jump serves and playing aggressively, and we just didnât play with confidence,â Crins noted. âWe didnât run our offense, but â in Game 3 â the defense worked hard and stepped up, and we crawled back into it. The blocking helped us do that.
âThis is a team of juniors, and theyâre still learning with every game. Consistency is our biggest issue. No oneâs saying, âHey, give me the ball!â No oneâs stepping up and saying, âJump on my back, and weâll win this one!â Weâre working hard, but â like I said â weâre lacking consistency.
âI will say weâre definitely going to be a better second-half team.â